A new life
by xPsycho
Summary: Finally home after the invasion of Konoha, Gaara tries to comprehend Naruto Uzumakis words, but is met with difficulties. Kankuro, Temari and Gaara bonding. Rated T for blood scenes and stuff. - first fanfic and proud!
1. Chapter 1

It was a dark night in Sunagakure. Everyone seemed to be asleep. There was no lights in the village. Only a few at the closest bars containing drunk shinobis. As always, there was a star clear sky. That was one special thing about Suna. There was always a shining and open nightsky. This night was different though. Every month there was a fullmoon. Or rather. Every 29 and a half day there was. That day was today.

The young, redheaded, Jinchuuriki sat on the rooftop of that house he shared with his siblings. They have just come home the day before from the invasion of Konohagakure, that miserably, failed. Along with that, the siblings came home, only to find their father dead. There had been a funeral. But it was only the older siblings who attended. The readheaded Jinchuuriki stayed away. He certainly did not want to honor his idiot of a father.

The young Jinchuuriki looked upon the bright fullmoon. He knew what was soon going to happen, and he would not like it.

"_Remember this night?" _a voice inside Gaara's head spoke up. _"The moon looked exactly liked that… just like that!" _As Gaara tried to resist, it only got worse. _"Let me revenge you! I'll make it all good again, Kid!" _The Shukaku manipulated.

But this time Gaara could not resist. He never could on the fullmoon nights. It was there he was most vulnerable. And, of course, the Shukaku was the first to take advantage.

Gaara screamed in agony as the demon within started to possess him.

"_My dear precious…" "Don't you wanna avenge me?" _Gaara looked up in fear, holding his hands tight around his head. "Mother..?" Gaara whispered. _"Yes Gaara, dear… avenge me… make them see they're all wrong. They all deserve to __DIE!__"_ Gaara screamed in pain yet again, and his body began transforming very slowly, and painful…

Kankuro woke up by the screams. Knowing it was fullmoon night, he didn't know what to do. One side of him tells him to go comfort his little brother, yet, one other side tells him to stay away and listen to his common sense. He, and his older sister Temari, always knew to stay long away these nights. Three days. The days before and after the fullmoon day. The day before reasoned with he was mentally losing it, on the fullmoon night where he lost it, and after where he recovered from the former madness. The young puppet master sat up in his bed, looking out of the window. The fullmoon was shining rudely much.

Why was it like this? Kankuro thought for himself. How come it all have ended this way? Kankuro surely wasn't glad for attending to his fathers funeral, but someone had to. Since both the older siblings knew that their little brother would not bother to come, Kankuro and Temari just decided to attend on their own together with Baki, of course.

Kankuros thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. No surprise, his older sister walked in and sat next to him.

"You woke up too?" Kankuro asked, even though he knew the answer pretty good already. Of course she woke up. It was only natural for them when they heard their little brother scream in agony, pain and grief. They've never really been close to their brother, even if they wanted to. Yes, he was their baby brother, but heck, they were scared of him. Still, when they heard the screams, something stung inside of them very badly.

"Yes, of course I did…" She anwsered ironically. "And so many others probably also woke up with the chill down their spines…"

"I wanna be there for him…" Kankuro said. He has always wanted a little brother. One he could talk with. One he could rely on. Someone who he could live through the tough teenage years with, but apparently, destiny didn't want it that way. Instead, this innocent boy became a victim to the one-tailed Shukaku. Not as a prey, oh no, but as a host.

"Kankuro… You know how dangerous that is!" Temari stood up again, looking serious at him. "You know very well, just like me tha –" She stopped in the middle of her sentence as it became very quiet outside. Almost too quiet. Gaaras screamings had stopped, and now the only noise there was to hear, was the wind blowing through the sand outside.

"W…we have to check out whats going on…" Kankuro stood up and got dressed, not caring if Temari was there, he just needed to get out fast. And besides, they were siblings after all.

He quickly got outside and looked around. Gaara was nowhere to be seen.

"He suddenly just ran off." A familiar deep manly voice spoke up from behind Kankuro. He turned around. "Baki… What are you doing here?" The young puppet master asked. "Checking on the district Gaara is in, in case he should attempt to get the murderous intent." Baki explained. "But hes nowhere to be seen now."

Kankuro looked around. No sign. Nothing. He looked down on the ground, seeing spots of blood. Could it be…? No of course not. No one could get hit on Gaara. Not in his state. "No one seems to be victims tonight." Baki stated.

"Its strange…" Kankuro said, looking around to see if he could spot a redhead somewhere in a corner. Perhaps, hiding, waiting for a prey. But Kankuro couldn't spot anything. Temari came out and stood next to Kankuro.

"Where is he?" Temari asked. Even though he wasn't in sight, she didn't let her guard down. Never on these nights. That, she learned on the hard way.

"I don't know. But I think you two should go back inside and sleep. Or come with to the mansion and sleep there. Perhaps, its to dangerous to sleep in your house these nights, when you don't know where Gaara is." Baki spoke up. Although their father was dead, they still had permission to enter the mansion as they pleased. That, probably, was the only bonus about being the Kazekage's children.

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Temari said and dragged his brother with her to the mansion to spend the rest of the night there.

"I…don't… want this anymore…Shukaku…" Gaara trembled in pain and fear. "No longer… will you… control me!" Gaara protested, but the demon within just laughed.

Gaara had escaped to a forest long away from Suna, nor any other near village. No longer would he produce harm to others. He would follow the path Naruto Uzumaki had given him. The new path, to a new life. To finally be able to look at the world, without wanting to… destroy. He wanted to be needed by others. To be important. _To be loved…_

That was what he wanted the most. To be useful. No longer a destructive failure of a weapon his father created. You reap what you sow. And now, Gaara wanted to reap what Naruto had sowed into his head, literally.

But there was something in the way. No. Someone. The demon inside him. He couldn't get peace. He couldn't get him away.

"_I never thought you would be fooled by such a loser." _The one tailed talked. _"He don't know true power. Even though he got it, he don't take it. You can be more powerful than anyone can ever imagine! No one would be able to stop us. No one could ever hurt you anymore! I would protect you…" _Gaara sat up against a tree, trying to supress the Shukaku and gaining his normal body structure back.

"No…" Gaara said. "Naruto Uzumaki taught me something important… The strongest power… is the power you get when you want to protect others…" _Love… _That single word striked his mind again. As the kanji in his forehead. _Ai…_

"_You don't tell me you actually believe in that crap he said? Whole your life, people have been scolding you! Hating you! Wanting you dead! That Naruto kid is no difference! He just tried to manipulate with you, so you wont ever hurt or attempt to kill his friends again! Cant you see it?" _The Shukaku yelled in anger.

"He showed me a new way… One I will walk alone. Without you! Even if it has to take me months. Years. I wont lose to you. I'll supress you… fight you… wounded, half dead, I don't care. I will win." Gaara stated determined. Now there was no turning back. He was gonna face Shukaku. Eye to demon eye. This was the start. If he was going down, he would at least take the demon with him.

"_Bring it on, kid. Lets see who's strongest!" _The Shukaku yelled and laughed scornfully. Shukaku had a big advantage, but that was not going to stop Gaara.

The mental fight had begun.

The two siblings woke up a week after the fullmoon night.

They were getting worried, none of them had seen Gaara in a whole week.

Kankuro thought for himself. He thought about the blood he saw. Perhaps someone did kill him…? No… That still wasn't possible in that state he was in. Kankuro got up, took a quick shower, got dressed and added his kabuki paint before walking out to Temari in the kitchen. They were back in their own house, only been in the mansion for two days after Gaara went… missing? Guess you can use that word? Anyway, the missing Gaara had begun to worry Kankuro. He did care about his little brother. They just weren't that close, but he was sure it was just the matter of time.

"Good morning…" Temari said, and covered the table. Only for two. There was two reasons for that. A) Gaara was missing, and B) Gaara rarely ate, due to that he wouldn't risk anyone poisoning his food. That form of assassination was something the Shukaku could NOT protect him against. Probably the only thing. Usually, people would die if they didn't eat. But because of the Shukaku, Gaara didn't die from that.

"Morning." The puppet master mumbled. "Have you seen Gaara?" He asked her. "No." Temaris face expression remained the same. As though she didn't care. But of course she cared. They both cared. It was their little brother.

"If he's not back in at least two days…" Kankuro started. "I'll go look for him" Kankuro knew his words sounded like a disbelief in Gaaras abilities, but that wasn't it. Kankuro wanted to help his little brother. If he even needed help.

Temari turned around, looking at her younger brother. "Kankuro. Don't…don't you see hes dangerous?" Temari sounded out of her mind. She knew, that what she was about to say, made her sound like the monster. "I know this might sound… harsh… but… m…maybe it was a good thing Gaara went missing." She stated. She could feel her heart beat faster as her mental pain spread around. How could she say such about her own little brother? Her own flesh and blood? She felt… miserable and pathetic.

Her brother stared at her. "T…Temari…" He stammered. "Kankuro… i… i know hes our little brother, but hes dangerous. For me and you. For the village. One little mistake in our movement, while hes insane, will kill us. The whole village is in danger with him living in it…" Temari hated to say it like that. She had never been close to Gaara in her life, but he was still her family. So it stung. And it stung badly.

"T…Temari… Hes… hes our little brother…" Temari could hear the sadness in her brothers voice. Kankuro wasn't that close to Gaara either, but he knew he had changed since his fight with that Uzumaki kid. Kankuro wanted to help his little brother, but he was still scared. However, Kankuro needed to make the decision fast.

"Temari. Regardless of what you say, I'll look after him if hes not back in two days. Hes our little brother. Our ototo! You really wanna leave your family behind?" Kankuro stood up from his chair, looking mad at Temari. "No matter what you do, say or think, I'll look for him. Because I don't wanna leave my family behind, just like our father did." With those words, Kankuro walked away.

Not knowing what he just said, he just acted out from his heart. Even if he wasn't so close to his little brother, he definitely wanted to bond with him. Also after he've seemed to take a dramatically change, Kankuro saw the opportunity right ahead.

Gaara sat exhausted up at a tree. Panting, in pain, hurting. He had fought Shukaku, and he had won. He actually won. But he was utterly damaged, knowing he needed to go to the hospital. But what would that help? The doctors always refused to treat him if he got any wounds, which of course was rare. The doctors fears him. Just to join the club to all the others, that also fears him.

He tried to get up, but failed miserably and had to sit down again. He had no chakra left and he had a couple of open wounds, that were still bleeding. He had to stay here and recover. But if he didn't get to a hospital soon, he would get utterly damaged. That, Gaara knew. He had already felt he was about to faint because of the chakra exhaustion, and with these open wounds…

Nevertheless, he needed to stay there. He wasn't capable of moving. Not yet. He just hoped he could recover in time and make it home. _Home._ Suna had never been a home for him. Or. It didn't feel like it. A home… weren't that a place where people thought of you? Wanted you? Missed you when you were gone? If that was the case… Suna was never gonna be a home to him. No one cared about him there… His siblings are just afraid of him. So is the village.

Shukaku had kept quiet, since the time the mentally battle ended. He hadn't screamed, he hadn't yelled he hadn't talked. It was just silent. Still, he was there. His presence. His being. His figure. It was there. The Shukakus chakra running through his veins, hurt right now. It stinged.

Suddenly, Gaara could feel his body ache and his head becoming heavier. He didn't make it. The chakra exhaustion and his wounds were too big. _I wonder if anyone will come for me…no...no one will… _Gaara thought as he fell unconscious.

The two days passed, and kankuro couldn't wait anymore. He gazed out of the window early in the morning. Way to early from when he normally gets up, but he had also experienced problems sleeping since Gaara was missing. The guilt, the shame, the pathetic feeling, were always in the back of his head.

Kankuro got up, got dressed and went outside, only to see the sunrise. _Such a nice sight…_Kankuro thought. _Such a nice sight, while theres chaos….How ironic…_He looked around. Saw some kids play early in the morning, playing hide and seek, while the parents tried to follow them. Clearly tired of getting up early. He saw some girls on the age of 13-14 stand and talk in a little group. None of them looked like serious konoichis. But heck, there weren't that many of such. Those girls care more about their looks, than their ninja one thing was for sure. Both the group and the little children smiled. It had been ages ago since Kankuro last smiled for real. What was there to smile over? Nothing. Happiness? Only in dreams. _There're all so damned lucky! Do they even know true pain?_ Kankuro could feel a tiny anger inside him. He sure knew, that Temari felt the same way. When they saw little children run around, groups of girls or boys laughing and smiling, they felt jealous. Why couldn't it be them? Why couldn't they feel the same happiness? Kankuro had to face, that it would never be that way. He was stuck in a living hell. But mostly, it was worst for Gaara. Next to the screaming and yelling, Kankuro always knew the true pain in his screams. Like he was yelling in a code language; "Help me! Save me!". Every single time that happened, Kankuro would feel the guilt sting. No. It not only stung. It hurt…_ teared him apart…._Kankuro looked up at the sun. It had rised to its mainly position, and Kankuro didn't want to wait any longer. He was going to look for Gaara now. He was just about to take off, when he could hear someone yell his name behind him.

"Kankuro!" He turned around to meet the person who called his name. He saw Temari running against him.

"Temari?" Kankuro looked surprised. What was she doing up so early? "Kankuro… Good you didn't take off yet…" Temari started. "I…I wanna go look after him together with you." Kankuro looked at her with chocked eyes. "I thought you said we were better of without him?" Kankuro could feel that his words right there cut Temari deep. "I know I said that….but I didn't mean it. Of course I cant mean such about my own brother…" She said and looked up at the sky. "Should we get going?" She tried to change the subject. Kankuro didn't feel like fighting with her, so he just agreed. "How do we find him?" Kankuro asked.

Temari looked out of the village gates. "When we reach the forest." She began. "We just look for trails of sand." Temari began walking.

Kankuro nodded and followed.

After they've travelled into the forest a pretty long part, they saw trails of sand and blood.

"Temari" Kankuro said and jumped down from the treebranch to look closer on the sand and the blood. He took something up in his hand and studied it closely.

"Yeah." Kankuro said. "Its Gaara's sand." Kankuro showed it to Temari and Temari looked at the blood.

"Then…" She began. "Whats up with the blood?" She looked around. There seemed to be spots of blood where ever she looked. "I don't know… maybe Gaara fought someone?" Kankuro answered her question with a guess. "Then there should be bodies around here." She answered and looked around, trying to see if she could follow the trails of blood. "Kankuro." She said, while looking at a specific direction. "The blood seems to trail that way." She pointed. "That means…" Kankuro tried to figure out. "That means its Gaara's blood?" Kankuro questioned. "I don't know. But we'll probably find out." Temari said and started to walk. Kankuro followed and the trip wasn't that full of words. They both concentrated on finding their little brother.

After walking a while, they both got tired and a little exhausted. The moon stood on and they had travelled longer than it seemed. It was dark, and they both sat down against a tree, starting a campfire. Kankuro looked up at the moon. It was half, he sighed, looking down at the ground again. Where the hell is he? How can he just disappear? Well, no matter what, they would continue looking for him.

"When do we continue?" Kankuro asked, looking at his older sister. "Hmm… tomorrow… I think… depends on if we're more exhausted after resting." Temari said and looked at the campfire, that was about to die. She got up to get more firewood, and lighten it up again. As she sat down she looked at her younger brother. She seemed so regretting. Like she was regretting being here, looking for Gaara, when she could be under her warm blanket. "Whats wrong?" The younger brother asked.

Temari looked up at Kankuro with an expressionless face. "its nothing." She said and sat against the tree, more relaxed. She tried to sleep, and the younger brother just decided to dumb the subject, since he knew Temari wouldn't give a straight answer. He'd have to dig for it, and he didn't have that energy. So he laid down and tried to sleep.

They woke up early and started to search again. They kept following the blood and sand trails that lead them deeper into the forest.

"Kankuro" Temari said. "Yeah?" Kankuro looked at Temari with a tired gaze. "I didn't mean what I said." Kankuro looked confused. "About what?" "About that we would be better of without Gaara. I didn't mean that. I was just being ridiculous..." She finished and didn't look at Kankuro, but remained her gaze at the road. "Of course you didn't." Kankuro said and gave up a tiny laughter. "I know you well enough to know you didn't mean it." Kankuro smiled, and they both stopped, as they got into an area in the forest. The trees were decorated with blood, and kinda looked like an outdoor torture champer. They looked around. "Y…You think Gaara was here?" Kankuro asked, as he looked around. This was terrifying. "I…I presume…" Temari answered and jumped down from the treebranch. She looked around. It was worse on the ground. Kankuro jumped down as well, and took slow steps around.

While Temari researched the area to look for clues, Kankuro walked a little deeper in to get focus on how big this outdoor torture champer was. There he saw something he didn't expect. Gaara. Gaara was leaning up against a tree. Unconscious. He rushed over to Gaara, and got down on his knees to get a better look at him. He got a lot of open wounds, and was very damaged.

"TEMARI!" kankuro yelled, full of energy, adrenalin and hope. Temari came rushing to his side, looking chocked as she saw Gaara. "Wh…What in the world happened?" She looked out of her mind. "Quick! Lift him up! We got to get him to the hospital fast!" Kankuro did as ordered, and lifted him up. Together they rushed to Suna all three. There was about one and a half day walk, but they wouldn't rest at all. They wanted to get him to the hospital quick.

"Do…do you think its his blood?" Kankuro looked at Gaara, studying his wounds. They were quite deep. "Whos else?" Temari said, trying to hide that she worried. "A victim?" Kankuro answered. "No." Temari began. "Then he wouldn't have gotten those wounds." She stated and looked at Gaara. His skin was paler than normal and his sand armor was broken. He didn't have his goard and he was looking more thin than usual.

"True…" Kankuro said. They speeded up, so they could get to the hospital even quicker.

They finally reached the Suna gates. The guards looked chocked at Gaara, then kind of relieved. Maybe they thought he was dead? They rushed into Suna quickly and got to the hospital. The nurses looked terrified.

"W…We can't treat him!" A nurse said. Kankuro handed over Gaara to Temari, and walked over to only stand an inch close to the nurse. "You will treat him! Its your job… If he dies you'll pay! Just go ahead and help him already!" Kankuros eyes were filled with worry and hate. "A…Alright…" The nurse looked rather afraid of touching Gaara, but took him anyway. She carried him into a hospital room, and a doctor came to start the treatment. They cleaned his wounds and cabled some needles to him. His face was on a weird way peaceful. Relieved.

"They better not poison him." Kankuro said and looked at the medicine cabled to him in needles. Temari didn't answer. "You found him." A deep male voice said as he walked in to stand next to them. Baki looked at them, then at Gaara. "Where was he?" He asked. "He was deep inside a forest." Kankuro said, and started to explain about the outdoor looking torture champer.

"I see…" Baki said, and looked at Gaara.

_A black room. No. Not a room. Just… Black nothing. Floating. In nothingness. Black and red. Was the nothingness. Red creeping down at the none existing walls. Smelling of death, destruction and blood. Of guilt. Of grief. Feeling… Empty. _

"_So you won. How lucky you are." The One-tailed panted in pain. The big Tanuki eyes showed up. Only the eyes. The terrifying eyes, that made everyone wanna wake up from their worst nightmare. "But just so you know…" The Tanuki eyes looked at the floating Jinchuuriki. "In the end they'll scold you, and I'll be the only one left. I'll catch you in the end when you fall. I'll be the only one to accept you! You wont survive without me. But don't worry. I got you when they scold you. When they scrap you. When they make you fall again. Then I'm here. In the end, you only got me, Gaara…" Those were the last words, as the Tanuki eyes closed. Leaving. _

"_I wont need you." Gaara said, coming up with a tiny smile. _

Some days passed, and finally Gaara began moving. He opened his eyes, looking around. A hospital room? They really wanted to treat him? And… Who brought him back? He saw out of the corner of his eye, Kankuro and Temari sitting next to his bed. They both were asleep. He sat up, looking down at himself. Medicine. And a lot of it. That's why he felt drowsy and weak, he thought. He took the needles out and got out of the bed. He was still wearing his clothing, luckily. They would never dare to touch his clothing. He jumped out of the window, and walked away from the hospital. He was still very dizzy and drowsy. Feeling like throwing up, but he didn't care. He didn't wanna be at the hospital. He walked around in Suna. People were looking weird at him. Did they know he'd been at the hospital? If that's the case, had they changed their view on him?

"Gaara." A male voice said from behind. Gaara turned around to face Baki. Gaara remained silence and just looked at Baki. "I see you're awake. Why didn't you stay at the hospital?" He looked serious at Gaara. "Hate hospitals." Gaara answered. Baki walked over to him. "You're afraid of being poisened?" "No." Gaara answered. "Just don't like them." He said and began to walk away. "You don't care about who found you?" This queston pierced through him. Yes. He wanted to know. "Who?" He asked and turned around to face Baki again. "Your siblings." A humble and hollow answer, yet, he felt… happy?

Gaara could not find an answer for this, so he just nodded. No words could describe how he felt right now. He was confused. And he felt like he was standing alone on a none-ending field. Yet, he felt some care in the end. His mind were filled with thoughts. _What if they wanted me to be there when they woke up? _No. No, that's impossible… or is it? Did…Did they really care? He had to think over that for some time. He thought a while if he should go back to the hospital, or stay away. He decided to stay away.

"If you see them, say I'm at home." Gaara said and turned around to walk home.

When he got home, he saw many files and documents lay on the table in the living room. He walked over to see what it was about. There was a map, surrounding the whole area around suna and out to the forest Gaara was in.

_They've been looking for me? Used time to… try and find me? _He thought and looked at some other files. He didn't wanna destroy its order, if it were in any order, so he just loot it be. He walked up in his room, and sat down to look out of the window. It was in the middle of the day, and people seemed to run around, doing tasks and other stuff. The marketplace was full of energy and life. People laughing, talking together, having a blast. He felt isolated. Not of his free will, but on other peoples will. They didn't want him here in Suna. Maybe he should've just given up in the battle with Shukaku? No… he've just won. No reason to regret now. He had to face life. No turning back now. He got up from his sitting position, and walked outdoor to walk around and feel the fresh air. People might stare scared or confused, but he didn't care now. He walked around the training grounds and looked at people train. Suddenly he could feel his sand shield activate, as one of the training girls had accidently misshit and threw a kunai in his direction. She looked very scared.

"S…sorry! i…i… I'm not s…so… good at it…. P…please…d…don't hurt me…" Her eyes were filled with fear, and she was trembling. Gaara picked up the kunai and walked over to her and gave it back. "Here." He said and turned around to walk away again. "u…uhm…T..Thank you…" She said, having a shaking sound in her voice. Gaara continued to walk away, and then he continued his road.

As it got to be sundown, he returned home to relax.

Kankuro woke up at the hospital at sundown. He looked around, expecting to find his little brother in the hospital bed, but to his big surprise, the bed was empty. He looked chocked around, trying to see if he could spot him somewhere, but he was gone. He got up even searcing the hospital room, but with no result. Then he decided to wake up Temari.

"Temari!" Kankuro yelled. As the older sister heard his voice like an annoying noise in her ear, she woke up and looked at him. "What?" She asked, feeling drowsy. "G…Gaara is gone…" Kankuro answered and pointed at the empty hospital bed. "What?" She said in surprise and got up from the chair. "You got to be kidding me!" Her voice was filled with a tiny anger.

As they tried to comprehend that their little brother wasn't there, a doctor entered the room. "I'm her to do some tests…" The doctor said, having his gaze down at some papers. Then he looked up at the siblings. "W…wheres the patient?" The doctor sounded terrified. What íf he was lurking around at the hospital, only to cause scared patients? "We don't know!" Temari sounded out of her mind. The doctor walked over to look at the needles that were attached to Gaara. He could see, it wasn't a nurse or any employee who have removed them. He've done it himself.

"This isn't good…" The doctor began. "He was supposed to still be on that medicine." The doctor explained. "How come you just have let him walk out?" The doctor looked angrily at the siblings. "We didn't! We were asleep and when we woke up he was gone!" Kankuro explained. "If theres anyone to blame it should be the nurses for not keeping an eye on him!" Kankuro's normal punk tone in his voice had turned up to yelling. "What if hes walking around now, causing pain or whatnot to other patients?" The doctor ran out to make the nurses search after him. Kankuro and Temari sighed.

"What should we do?" Kankuro asked, as he looked at his older sister. "I don't know. With his wounds he should still be in Suna…" Temari said, looking out of the window. "Correct" A Baki spoke from the entrance to the hospital room. "Hes home, so don't worry." Temari looked at Baki. "You've seen him?" she asked. "Yes. Just go home. He should be there…" Baki said and walked out again.

Then, both the siblings left the hospital and walked home.

**A/N: **

**Hey everyone! I'm new on , so... hello! This is my first story, and i wanna continue on it... - if i can... I'm still having problems with the functions in here, but i guess its just the matter of time ._.' Sorry for any typo's, gramma... etc. **

- **xPsycho  
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	2. Conflict

At home Gaara sat on the rooftop, looking over the village. It was past sundown, and the moon hadn't shown yet. Gaara looked straight into the air, buried in his own thoughts. He thought about how the day had went, and tried to comprehend what had happened in the forest up to now. His siblings had saved him. That was the most chocking. That was the most unpredictable. That alone, made Gaaras head spin. Maybe it was a part of his new path? He didn't know. But he was going to get used to it. Or else, anything might knock him out along the way.

Kankuro and Temari walks on the street on the way home from the hospital. They were counting on finding Gaara at home. So they could check on how he was, when they arrived at home.  
>"What a day…" Kankuro said, holding his hands behind his head while walking. He was exhausted and just needed a break. Still, he was eager to see how Gaara was.<p>

"You're just as lazy as that crybaby from Konoha." Temari said and gave up a little evil smirk. She had returned to her normal self, hating to let her guard down like she had done while looking for their littlebrother.

"Oh shut up… At least I'm not a cloud-gazing weirdo." Kankuro gave up a tiny laugh and looked at the sky. Nope. No clouds. What did Shikamaru do when there weren't any clouds?

They arrived in front of their house, and saw immediately Gaara sitting on the roof with a quiet manor. _At least he has a calm atmosphere… That must be a good sign, right?_ Kankuro thought, gazing over at Temari. Temari looked at Kankuro, and then went over to open the door. As they walked in Temari broke the short silence that had been running. "I'll go deliver the maps and such back to the mansion. You go talk to him if that's what you desire." She walked over to the living room table and picked up the maps and files, then disappeared out of the door as fast as she came in.

Kankuro looked at Temari until she was gone. He didn't anwser, simply because he didn't make to before she was out. Kankuro walked down the hall and into his room. He put Karasu down from his back and got out of his ninja gear. He changed into some more relaxing outfit since he was really tired, and didn't want to wear that 'heavy' outfit anymore. But he didn't remove his facepaint. He still remember Gaaras face when he noticed how much he looked like their father. And Gaara wasn't happy for that. Could be Gaara had changed, but that was a suicide mission no matter what. And he still had Shukaku. _I wonder how much in control he is in now… _Kankuro thought for himself as he headed to the roof.

Back at the Kazekage mansion, Temari had just delivered back the files and maps that she had brought along. She was just about to head back, as someone spoke from behind her.

"Temari" Baki looked at her and had a serious look on his face.  
>"What?" Temari answered.<br>"How is Gaara?" Temari looked at Baki and crossed her arms. "Hes fine. Hes sitting at our rooftop." She looked out of the window next to where she stood. The moon had rose to its final position, and was shining brightly. Luckily, it was half, so no worries.

"I see." Baki looked at some files he had in his hands.

"Temari, don't tell your brothers this." He started. Temari immediately looked at Baki with a serious and confused face. "The council has written a letter for you." He handed over the piece of paper to Temari, and looked for her reaction. She read it and looked up at Baki in anger.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean? Are they stupid or something?" Temaris eyes boiled. She had always hated those old fools from the council, but now they went too far.

"I had no part in this, Temari." He started. "So I'm sorry, I can't answer your question." Temari looked away. She wanted to rip that paper over, but not even that was worth it. "I thought they were over with that by now." "You know the council." Baki said in a humble manor. "But I'm sure Gaara will take it as it comes." He stated.

"And what makes you so sure, Baki? Gaara just got out of the hospital, and who knows what happened to him! I cant imagine whats going through his head right now, and the council only makes it worse!" She held out her arms in anger, trying to make Baki understand her statement.  
>"You saw him yourself when we came home again from the invasion! No one have <span>ever<span> beaten him like that before. That Uzumaki brat also haves a damn monster inside him, and who knows what he said to Gaara? And after that, he went into the forest. What he did there, no one knows. Maybe the council should give him a damn chance for this one sake!" She was surprised about how much she had held in. How much she actually cared. Though, she would never admit it.

"Hmm… Can't you and Kankuro try to find out what happened out there in the forest? You said it looked like a torture champer." He started. "I can go get this project delayed, if you meanwhile try to figure it out, or talk to him. And are you sure you're not exaggerating when you say it looked like that? I don't believe it actually looked like a torture champer." Baki stated.

Temari looked down in the floor, thinking. _Talk to Gaara about it? And whats the chance hes gonna tell us? _She ignored the last comment, and looked up at Baki again. "Alright. We'll try to talk to him. But I cant promise anything." She looked at the paper again. _The council is stupid. _

"I'll go delay it then." And then Baki left the area.

Temari looked once again on the paper. It was a dangerous idea… for the council. Temari folded the paper together, and put it into her little pocket in her side.

Baki walked into the meeting room. He had summoned them all there, to tell about Temaris outburst and the idea.

"Why did you summon us, Baki?" An older council member said. He had an annoyed face expression. He was probably tired, since it has gotten a little late now.

"I just talked to Temari." He began. "I agreed with her that we maybe can delay your project?" He stood with his arms firmly crossed.

"What?" A younger one said. "And what is the reason for that?" He looked at Baki with a serious gaze, and the rest just followed their conversation.

"Gaara have just fought Naruto Uzumaki. And then directly after he comes home, something happens and he gets injured. You know for yourself that he just came out from the hospital. But you see, aren't you all interested in, what actually happened? You know Gaara doesn't get injured that easily." Baki stated, still with his arms crossed, as to confirm his statement. The council members looked doubting at him at first, but then one spoke up.

"Doesn't his siblings know?"

"If they did, don't you think they would've told it?" Another one responded.

"Probably. They're not too happy about him either." A third one interrupted.

Baki wanted to say something against that. What he just saw before with Temaris outbreak, he could figure out they cared about their littlebrother. Even though that could turn out dangerous. He had also testified some concern from their side, when they were at the chunin exams.

"Gentlemen." Baki interrupted. "Please get to your conclusion."

"Baki. How sure can we be on getting answers?" The old council member asked with a strict look.

"I wouldn't bet on it. But you can always do the project later, it doesn't have to be now. And better find out what actually have happened, instead of launching this on him, when he might have got a reason." Baki looked at the old council member, and made sure to have his eyecontact to show this was a serious opinion.

The old council member looked around and they all nodded.

"Very well then." The young council member said. "Please keep in touch with Temari. And make sure Gaara doesn't know she's reporting to us. Kankuro must not know any of this."

"Understood." And then, Baki disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Gaara still sat quietly on the rooftop. He looked at the moon. It shined and gave Gaara a more pale skin color than he already had. The cold desert wind blew through the streets, making small sand grains fly to unknown destinations.

Kankuro was about to walk up to Gaara, when Temari interrupted his way. "Kankuro!" a smoke cloud appeared right in front of the young puppet master. "Temari?" He looked a little chocked at her. "Yo, where's it burning, man?" He laughed a little and looked at his older sister.

"I gotta go through this one with you." Temari said and walked over to the couch to sit down, while making a sign to Kankuro to come and join her.

"Yeah, so what is it?" Kankuro asked.

Temari considered to talk about the letter from the council with Kankuro. But he couldn't know. He would just rage up to the council, just like Temari had on Baki.

"Lets try and find out what happened to Gaara in that forest." Temari said in a serious manor.

"Temari… is something wrong? You know we agreed on finding out, and now you're repeating it out of nowhere…" Kankuro leaned lazily back against the couch and put his arms behind his head.

"Its… Nothing. Are you going to talk to him, or should I?" Temari tried to drop her serious tone, but it didn't want to go away.

"Man…" Kankuro laughed. "Just you go sleep. I think you need it, Tem." As he said that, he got up and walked to the roof. Temari shook her head of him and went to her room.

Kankuro got up to Gaara, but not knowing what to say, he stood silently behind him. Kankuro noticed how calm Gaara was, and he didn't wanna break his calmness. Even though, Kankuro was quite sure that Gaara had noticed him. He twitched as soon as Kankuro reached the roof.

"Are you gonna stand there the whole night?" Gaaras dark voice was calm and unthreatening, so Kankuro took that as a 'come, sit down you moron' invite.

"Nah, just didn't want to break that calm solitude of yours." Kankuro answered and walked over to sit next to him. As expected, he heard no answer from Gaara.

"So… It seems like you have a lot on your mind, Gaara?" Kankuro tried to open up the subject, so it didn't seem strange. _Whats on your mind? Wish you would just tell me… It seems to trouble you a lot._ Kankuro thought and gave up a lightly sigh. He was worried, but he couldn't show it like he wanted to. He didn't really know what was holding him back. Perhaps it was because he was afraid of Gaaras reaction. Perhaps it was something else.

Gaara remained silent. Maybe he was afraid to talk about it? Or maybe he simply just didn't want to share anything, keeping himself kind of isolated. Gaara looked at Kankuro short, then moved his gaze away again. "Yes." He said finally after a long silence. Kankuro startled, and looked at his littlebrother again. _He just said yes? To that something is troubling him? He've never done that before… _Unlike Kankuro, Gaara wanted an answer. He kept looking at Kankuro, awaiting his reaction.

"R-right! Hey, why don't you share?" Kankuro burst out with a smile on his face, trying to be optimistic. Gaara looked at Kankuro for a while, then gazed up at the half-moon. "I fought with Shukaku." Gaara began, still remaining his gaze on the moon. "W…wait… You… What?" Kankuro jumped up in surprise. "Is that why we found you there?" Kankuro looked at Gaara with an intense stare, wanting answer right away. "You mean in the forest?" Gaara asked, still haven't change one bit in his normal voicetone. "Yeah! Hey, why did you choose the forest in the first place?" Kankuro thought out aloud, not really expecting an answer.

Gaaras answer was low and hollow, but still, it chocked Kankuro to the utmost. "There, I couldn't harm any surrounding people."

Kankuro was to startled of the answer. Even though he wanted to, he just couldn't get a word out. He felt like his mouth was hanging open, and so it did. Not much, but a little. After several minutes of silence, Kankuro finally spoke.

"So… How'd it go?" Kankuro slowly sat down again and put a hand on Gaaras shoulder, as for comfort. To his surprised, Gaara didn't move it away.

"It went fine." Gaara said, and slowly looked at him from the corner of his eye, not moving his head.

"You won? Or… Whatever you want to call it… I don't really know what happened, other than that you took quite some damage…" Kankuro moved his hand away to give his little brother space to think about what to answer. Not really because Gaara needed it. He always seemed to know what to say.

Kankuros normally punk attitude had faded out, and he tried to act like a normal bigbrother. The problem just was, that he didn't know how exactly to do that. He never had to act like one, which clearly has left him an ignorant mark. He didn't know what to do, or what to expect for an answer, but he had to try no matter what. Kankuro now, was happy he've moved his hand away. He began feeling a little tense of this. Normally he could just use his punk attitude to get out of it, but that didn't work now. Now, he had to be the real Kankuro, the one behind the facepaint. Not literally. There's still some time for Kankuro before he allows himself to show without facepaint. He simply haven't got nerve enough to do so yet. That required a lot more confidence and trust from Gaaras side.

"Yes I did." Gaara answered. For a short, Kankuro had to remember what he actually asked about, but in no time it came back to him. "Oh great! Wait… How? I mean… Sorry, I'm not exactly a pro' in this." Kankuro rubbed his head awkwardly, and then looked back at Gaara.

_If it was a battle with Shukaku, how did he then get those injuries? The battles with Shukaku is… Mentally? Isn't it? _Kankuro thought. He didn't want to ask Gaara about that. He might have allowed Kankuro to go this far with the questions, but he doubt Gaara would allow him to go any further.

"You mean the injuries?" Gaara asked, not really fitting to Kankuros question, but sometimes Kankuro simply asumed Gaara was a mindreader.

"Well, yeah that too." Kankuro began. "And, uhm… How you got those injuries… I mean… The battle was mentally…right?" Kankuro proceeded anyway with the question. It simply filled too much in his head, he had to get it out.

"Shukaku did something… So he… Acted in person." Gaara had a hard time formulating this. So had Kankuro, imagening this. "He performed as me, with help from a sort of jutsu. The only sign of it being him, was his eyes." Gaara explained. "Though, the jutsu didn't last long, since I still had him powered up mentally. He were only there in a couple of minutes, but that was enough." Gaara closed his eyes to asume what he just said. "Oh… Well that sounds complicated." Kankuro said, looking a little confused. Gaara had tried to explain it on the most easiest way, he could come on.

Suddenly, Gaara stood up. "Oi, where are you going?" Kankuro questioned, still sitting down. If Gaara wanted to go anywhere, Kankuro wouldn't dare to stop him.

"Away." He said and jumped away.

Kankuro was about to reply, but Gaara was gone before he knew it.

_Whats up with Gaara and Temari, just disappearing without waiting for an answer? It's getting damn annoying! _Kankuro thought, as he got up to go down to Temari.

The hallway was dark and cold. It was almost too dark. Kankuro tried to find the switchbox so he could turn on some light, but he couldn't find it. "So much for having lived here so long, man…" He said to himself and guided himself through the hallway up to Temaris room. He knocked on the door slowly, waiting for an answer. "What is it?" _Ah, so Temari is still awake...or else I woke her up… _Kankuro opened to door and walked in to see Temari sitting up in her bed with her night clothing on.

"Got any reason to wake me up, you idiot?" Temari rubbed her head in a tired manor, and glared annoyed at Kankuro. Judging from her statement, Kankuro asumed she had forgotten what they've talked about.

"Just if you wanted to know about Gaara and such." Kankuro began and leaned up against the wall in a slacky mode. "But if I'm interrupting so much, I'll just leave again, man." Kankuro said, acting like he was walking against the door. He knew Temari would stop him, afterall she was so eager to find out.

_I know she's eager to find out, but why so eager? I've never seen her so… hmm… excited. It seems weird. _Kankuro thought, still waiting for her call.

"No, you dumbass. Come back here." She said in a commanding tone just as Kankuro had predicted. Kankuro walked back, grinning, and sat down beside her. There, he explained everything that Gaara had told him.

"He….He what?" Temari looked chocked. "Oh man…" She looked concerned. She got up and took her ninja clothing out of her drawer. "Get out, I gotta change." She gave Kankuro a glare. _Girls and their privacy… _Kankuro thought. "Oi, where are you going?" He asked. "None of your bussiness!" She said and pushed him out. Temari got dressed, and got out too, slamming her door. "I'll be back soon." She said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Damn… Seems like I'm alone. Again." He said and began to walk. "Wait." He thought out aloud. "Maybe I can find out why she's in such a hurry…" Kankuro finished his aloud thinking and went into Temaris room. He looked around. Where could she be hiding such stuff…Kankuro snoozed around, looking in her drawers. He found make-up and other girl stuff. _Tampons?_ _So she IS a girl after all. _Kankuro thought and moved on. "Hmm… doesn't seem like theres anything…" He said and sat down on her bed. Then he got down on the floor and saw a box under her bed.

"AHA!" He bursted out in victory and grabbed the box. He got back up on Temaris bed and opened it. It contained a lot of papers and documents. Plus some small scrolls. Kankuro took up some papers and looked at them. "Reports… Reports… More reports… Something from the council… WAIT! Something from the council? That I don't know about?" Kankuro quickly dropped the other papers and began reading the letter from the council.

_Temari. It asumes that the invasion was a failure. Since your father is dead, we've thought about what to do now. You are the oldest of the siblings, and the most reasonable. Kankuro we can't fully trust. Therefore, we're searching for a helping hand in you. You don't seem to be related anyhow emotionable with Gaara, but Kankuro seems to be.  
>We've noticed Gaaras different behavior, and we would like to look more into it. Therefore, we would like to put some ANBU out to spy on him. If anything is going wrong, the ANBU will report back to us, and we will once again try to put it to an end. Even without the Kazekage here, we know he would've agreed. You said Gaara battled Naruto Uzumaki. If that is true, we don't know what Naruto have put into his head. If Gaara have grown more insane, we simply have no choice. Unless you can come up with different, the ANBU will take action. He got one week until we go through with the plan. Your part in this is simply to be aware of this fact and not tell your siblings about it. <em>

_The Council_

Kankuro read this letter through many times before it melted into his head. "The ANBU was spying on Gaara? If that's the case… Gaara could be in danger right now! Who knows when Temari have received this letter. Temari. She didn't tell. She… She went behind our back!" Kankuro got up and curled the letter into a little ball. _That's it. Gaara have gotten all this through, and now… This is his reward? I understand Gaara goes insane! _He didn't even bother to clean up the other papers, but just disappeared. He wondered if he was going to confront Temari first, or find Gaara to find out if he was in danger. "After all this…Temari can wait. Gaara is my first prior right now." Kankuro thought out aloud again and appeared outside. _Now… Where is Gaara?_ Kankuro looked around, trying to figure out a direction. When he finally got a clue, he sat off.

Temari hurried over to the Kazekage mansion to report to Baki. "Temari-sama?" The guards asked her. "What are you doing here so late?" They looked confused at her, but didn't attempt to stop her.

"None of your bussiness." Temari said harshly and walked past them.

Temari walked inside to look around. She knew that most of the council members weren't asleep. There were lights in the building, so someone had to be awake.

"Temari?" An older council member asked.

"Good someone is awake." She answered. "I got some information for you." She said and looked seriously on the council member. _With this information they can't allow themselves to spy on Gaara. _

"What is it?" The council member asked.

Temari then began explaining the whole story. About what kankuro had told her to the tiniest little detail. About the way he had fought Shukaku. His victory, but his injuries as well. How he was now. Every little detail was out.

Temari could feel the council member was stunned, but he didn't show it. More likely, he looked impressed.

"I see." He said and looked down to the right. "I'll gather the council and Baki tomorrow morning." He said and started to walk away, then he looked over his shoulder. "Thank you for the information." And then he disappeared.

Temari crossed her arms and looked after him for a little while, then she uncrossed her arms and walked back to her and her siblings house. She proceeded to her room and opened the door. When she walked in she got chocked. _Dammit! Who went through my papers?_ She thought and made her hands into fists. She went over to get all the papers collected down in that little box again. When she did that she looked through them. One paper was missing.She got up and looked around. "Wheres the damn council paper…" She asked herself as she walked around and looked for it. Then she saw a little paperball on the floor that was curled together. She picked it up and curled it out only to see it was the paper she was looking for. "Damn... Its either Kankuro or… Gaara…" She ripped the paper over. "If Gaara have read this… Nothing I've just told the council will be a benefit! He will probably go insane again, and then I have nothing against it! Damn it! But if it was Kankuro…" She looked at the pieces she've just ripped over.

She quickly ran to his room and opened the door. Nothing. No one was in here. _Damn it! He must be looking for Gaara now then… _She ran outside and looked around. _I hope hes not far away…_ Then, she began running.

Gaara sat up against a tree, trying to find some calmness in his mind. Which technically was impossible with the sadist of a tail beast inside of him. The Shukaku had kept quiet since the fight, but once in a while he would comment things. Its not possible for him to shut his mouth. Gaara looked around. He felt a chakra presence. He felt it familiar, so he didn't bother making a big scene out of it. He just waited for it to proceed.

Now, he felt the chakra presence right behind him. Gaara loot out a sigh. He hated when people were playing hide and seek with him.

_Hahaha! That silly idiot… _Shukaku spoke and laughed. _He thinks you don't know hes here? Pathetic. _

"Shut up." Gaara said as an answer.

_Pff… Your barrier wont last long, kid. _

Gaara sighed annoyed and just decided to ignore his inner demon. It was stupid to waste energy on him. He've already wasted enough.

"Oi, Gaara." The person said and sat down next to him.

Gaara gazed over at Kankuro. He didn't answer, and looked away again. The night breeze was cold, and the moon was shining brightly down at them, giving both Gaara and Kankuro a mysterious look.

"Why are you here?" Gaara asked as he looked down in the ground, examining their surroundings. He had a feeling there would be silence before the storm in any moment.

"Oh… No reason… Just… You know… Wanted to check something wasn't wrong. You ran away pretty fast, didn't get the chance to ask you where you went…" Kankuro answered. He felt his sentence didn't make much sence. It sounded better in his head, like always.

Gaara didn't answer. He felt another chakra presence approaching. It was familiar, but it was sure running fast. Gaara stood up, as for awaiting the familiar presence.

"Oi? Where're ya going?" Kankuro looked confused and stood up as well.

Suddenly, a blond familiar person jumped down from a treebranch in front of them.


End file.
